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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Another fun, informative, and successful StatChat came and went this past October 27th. Still hosted at Macalester College, there was a full plate on the agenda and full plates with great treats shared among attendees.

After the always mandatory food, drinks, and socializing, Monica Brown and Joe Roith from St. Kate's presented on St. Kate's new Interdisciplinary Statistics minor. Milo Schield from Augsburg College spoke on problems with introductory statistics courses, as well as initiated discussion about revising the current GAISE recommendations.

A highlight of the night was a presentation by our own Anelise Sabbag: "A focus on statistical reasoning. What did we learn from the GOALS instrument?" Anelise explored what we are learning about students' statistical reasoning based on field test results from GOALS in Fall 2014. Key points included the most challenging types of questions for students and the learning goals with which they are most struggling.

Anelise fearlessly taking over the room with her intellect, energy, and wit!

Of course it wouldn't be a Halloween StatChat without the famed Stat-O-Lantern! Thanks to Mike Huberty for the spooky, statistical display.

The Stat-O-Lantern was the toughest audience member, skeptically judging each presentation and asking the hard questions

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Our Stat Ed family is proud to announce that Matt Beckman (now Dr.) successfully defended his dissertation, "Assessment of Cognitive Transfer Outcomes for Students of Introductory Statistics", on Monday, October 12th!

We are all so proud of and happy for Matt. His story with the Stat Ed family began back in 2009. In his own words:

"I moved to MN in fall 2006 and completed my M.S. in the University of Minnesota Statistics Department. I took Michelle Everson's "Becoming a Teacher of Statistics" class in Spring 2008 as an elective in my last semester. She & Joan hired me as adjunct faculty to teach EPSY 5261 for Fall 2008 and Spring 2009, and then told me about the Stat Dd PhD program. So, I enrolled in Fall 2009."

All smiles! Dr. Beckman and his committee, under the glow of success.

We wish Dr. Beckman all of the best as he and his family transition out to the east coast! Matt will soon be starting in his new position in the Penn State University Statistics Department, as the Director of Undergraduate Programs.